Supermarkets have seen the highest turnover this year in terms of payments by credit or debit cards, according to data from JCC, the plastic card joint venture run by the commercial banks. Supermarkets saw volumes increase by 18.59% year to date, while clothing and other retailers also saw turnover up by 13% and 12% respectively.
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Inflation in Cyprus fell rapidly in November mainly as a result of falling international oil and food prices. The consumer price index in November 2008 decreased by 1.0% compared with the previous month to 111.43, units compared with 112.55 in October 2008. The Statistical Service reported that this is mainly owing to decreases in the
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Central banks in Europe were poised to cut interest rates on Thursday to try to contain a global economic slump that appears to be spreading faster than policymakers had anticipated. Asia-Pacific nations kept up the flood of grim news after U.S. data overnight showed private sector employers axed jobs at the fastest pace in seven
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Asian shares fell on Thursday as more bad news piled up for the global economy, while the dollar and yen steadied as central banks in the UK and Europe were set to cut interest rates to their lowest in years. European shares were set to open slightly lower ahead of the central bank decisions, with
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Cyprus attracted 1,.6 bln euros in direct foreign investment in 2007, compared to 1,46 bln in 2006 and 940 mln the year before that. Direct investments from EU member states reached 969.4 mln euros in 2007. The figures were given during the first official presentation of the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA), the aim of
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Offshore haven Liechtenstein has agreed a landmark deal with the U.S. to drop bank secrecy in cases of tax evasion and could make similar concessions in the European Union, a diplomat from the Alpine nation said. Prince Nikolaus, a member of Liechtenstein's ruling royal family who brokered the deal, told Reuters on Wednesday the tiny
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Paul Taylor The global financial crisis has been a stark reality check for the European Union, exposing divergences over economic policy and highlighting the European Commission's growing difficulty in enforcing common rules. The European response to the turmoil shows that most real power still resides with member states, not in Brussels. Even after 50 years
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President Nicolas Sarkozy will announce assistance worth billions of euros for the auto and housing sectors on Thursday in a stimulus package intended to help France's economy through the global downturn. Sarkozy will announce his plans at 1100 GMT at a Renault factory in Douai in northern France. Recent data has painted a dire picture
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European Union regulators have banned imports of Chinese soy-based food products for infants and young children after an industrial chemical was found in Chinese soybean meal, the EU executive said on Wednesday. The chemical, melamine, is used in pesticides and plastics. Some months ago, it was the focus of a scandal over milk products that
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Nigeria's interbank foreign exchange market has effectively shut down, dealers said on Wednesday, as dollar supply dwindles and it waits to see if the central bank will allow the local currency to fall further. The Nigerian naira <NGN=> weakened sharply to almost 130 to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday from 120 as dealers digested the
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